antigravitas

McCain to Democrats:

2008-08-29T12:17:00.006-04:00

"I see your pantsuits and raise you one corsage."

John McCain just announced Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his VP pick, to the surprise of many. (WP) He is sure gunning for Hillary Clinton supporters and I imagine this choice fits into that plan.

Palin is young (44), anti-corruption, firmly anti-abortion, has posed for Vogue, and differs with her new running mate on the subject of drilling in the Arctic Refuge.

She also really likes to wear giant flowers on her lapel, a la Carrie Bradshaw in 1999. I thought the pic above, from her gubernatorial inauguration, was an anomaly, until I ran across this one too.

If you happen to have any other documentation of Governor Palin's floral fashion statements, send them my way. It is certainly a distinctive calling card.

Guess what: I'm wearing pants right now!

2008-08-26T11:10:00.001-04:00

I still don't understand the obsession with "Hillary's pantsuits."

ABC News: A Look Back at Hillary's Year of Pantsuits
Glamour Magazine Salutes Hillary Clinton's Rainbow Coalition of Pantsuits

You know, technically, Obama always wears "pantsuits." Not that he doesn't have the legs to carry off a tasteful above-the-knee hem.

And no one ever writes about those.

The Omnivore's Hundred

2008-08-22T19:41:00.005-04:00

My friend Joe Wang points out this excellent list of foods that "every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life" from Very Good Taste.

What a fun exercise! I am bolding the ones I have tried. I think "tasting menu at a Michelin 3-star restaurant" has got to be next on the list, and I will wait on "crocodile."

The VGT Omnivore's Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth �60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin [WORST FOOD EVER!!! The only food I have ever tried and not liked.--Ed.]
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S�mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Speaking of suckers, I have a chupacabra in my crisper drawer

2008-08-19T21:40:00.005-04:00

This is ridiculous. I feel bad even calling further attention to it. Go ahead--ask CNN why they have been covering the bigfoot revelation story. *shakes head*

Researcher says bigfoot just a rubber gorilla suit
By JUANITA COUSINS
ATLANTA (AP) --Turns out Bigfoot was just a rubber suit. Two researchers on a quest to prove the existence of Bigfoot say that the carcass encased in a block of ice -- handed over to them for an undisclosed sum by two men who claimed to have found it -- was slowly thawed out, and discovered to be a rubber gorilla outfit.

Trust the kids and trust the facts: lower the drinking age

2008-08-19T20:30:00.009-04:00

Right now I am loving and supporting the Amethyst Initiative, which is enlisting the support of university presidents in a call to reexamine the legal drinking age in the U.S. (U.S. News & World Report) Especially after confirming more or less to my satisfaction that no beverage industry money is involved. It's a project of Choose Responsibility, a nonprofit founded by the former president of Middlebury College (you know those Middlebury kids...woo HOOOO! no wonder he's concerned).

I buy Choose Responsibility's arguments in favor of lowering the drinking age. For various reasons, some related to personal responsibility and some related to legal exposure, I spent an inordinate amount of time in college trying to keep people from killing themselves with alcohol. And I'm telling you,

1) A legal drinking environment is almost always safer than an illegal drinking environment, regardless of the age of the drinkers.

2) Our unusually high drinking age is unquestionably a factor in many college students' unhealthy relationship with alcohol, which includes binge drinking.

3) I'm much less worried about a college kid drinking a couple of beers and getting behind the wheel--not that it isn't cause for worry--than I am about a college kid drinking 20 shots of hard liquor and then falling asleep on his back and drowning in his own vomit. There is a good case to be made, as Choose Responsibility does, that the age 21 limit contributes to college-aged binge drinking in a big way, and that it's binge drinking that is the greatest threat to the health and well-being of teenagers and those around them.

Anyway, food--or drink--for thought.

Our bartender is running for Congress

2008-08-14T11:40:00.003-04:00

Well, shadow Congress...that's how we do it in the District. (CityPaper)

Julia Child was a U.S. spy?

2008-08-14T10:01:00.002-04:00

And Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.? And Ernest Hemingway's son?

Newly-released documents reveal a bunch of unlikely (or all too likely?) people as WWII era spies for the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA. (AP)

This is all nuts, and further convinces me that Rachel Ray is actually a stone-cold assassin in her spare time.

And you thought McGruff the Crime Dog was tough

2008-07-31T17:16:00.002-04:00

WP: Marijuana Garden Found With Help of Researcher's Turtle

Yup. Some Chevy Chase kid was cultivating weed in Rock Creek Park. But he wasn't counting on a narc turtle running across his operation. It's like they say in College Park. Fear the turtle.

Only in DC...

The banality of graft

2008-07-29T20:11:00.004-04:00

The formidable Dirty Dozen regular Sen. Ted Stevens, (R-AK, seen below in his characteristic Incredible Hulk tie) has been indicted on 7 counts of lying about gifts he received from an oil company. (WP, also see Google News results)

Stevens, it is pretty convincingly alleged, took $250K worth of goods and services from Veco Oil in exchange for help with the company's legal troubles in Alaska. The offense was failing to report these gifts.

Offensive enough. But to me, the worst offense of all is what these gifts consisted of. Did Stevens send his nogoodnik son to school with these funds? Pay off his mortgage or something? Tithe to the church? Pay off debts owed to a dangerous mobster in order to save his life?

Nope. He remodeled his bathroom and installed some high quality kitchen appliances.

Is Elaine Donnelly for real?

2008-07-24T13:01:00.004-04:00

She's the president of a group that opposes gays in the military, and blessed us all with her own bizarre fantasies at a recent House Armed Services Committee hearing about Don't Ask Don't Tell. As Steve Benen at The Carpetbagger Report put it: "The way to win the DADT debate --hand the other side a microphone."

Highlights, as reported by Dana Milbank:

She warned of "transgenders in the military." She warned that lesbians would take pictures of people in the shower. She spoke ominously of gays spreading "HIV positivity" through the ranks.
"We're talking about real consequences for real people," Donnelly proclaimed. Her written statement added warnings about "inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community," the prospects of "forcible sodomy" and "exotic forms of sexual expression," and the case of "a group of black lesbians who decided to gang-assault" a fellow soldier.

There's a screenplay in here somewhere. But don't worry, Elaine--there's still plenty of old-fashioned, red-blooded heterosexual harassment and assault going on in the military!

Toenails: A death is just a new beginning

2008-07-21T15:11:00.006-04:00

Thanks to runner/blogger Scott Dunlap for informing us of Jan Ryerse's "Ceremonial Toenail Necklace" project. Now I sort of wish I had kept all of those little fallen soldiers. :P

Doping: Ur doin it wrong

2008-07-15T14:21:00.003-04:00

HARSH BUZZ KILL Speaking of drugs, 19-year-old Czech archer Milan Andreas has tested positive for marijuana use, the CTK news agency reports, and may be dropped from that country's Olympic team. The decision will be made on Wednesday. [NYT Rings blog]

I did not realize until just now that marijuana was an IOC banned substance. Probably because I couldn't name the sport in which it would present, you know, a competitive advantage.

Though I guess if you had to pick one, snowboarding might be it.

Slammage

2008-07-14T16:22:00.002-04:00

Regular readers (hi, Dad!) may have noticed the silence recently. Enjoy it--as Depeche Mode would say. I'll be back as soon as work, ultra training, and my advanced graduate course in cat herding allow.

Because everything's better with jalepenos

2008-07-10T15:03:00.003-04:00

Officials Add Jalapenos To Salmonella Warning (WP)

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

2008-07-02T20:36:00.007-04:00

The things you learn on the Colbert Report. I would never have known, until watching last night's "The Word," that John McCain keeps using the word "transcendental" in a really weird way. To wit:

"I believe we are facing the transcendental challenge of the century of radical Islamic terrorism." (johnmccain.com)

I am pretty sure McCain is not proposing yogic flying or a devotion to the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson as key elements of the radical Islamic terrorist challenge. He, or someone on his staff, is dealing a few tarot cards short of a full deck, because what McCain really means is something more like "surpassing" or "overarching." Or maybe "existential?"

AP: "Everything seemingly spinning out of control"

2008-06-23T15:50:00.003-04:00

Reads like The Onion, but this is the actual headline of an actual AP article today.

Crimes against beer

2008-06-19T20:13:00.004-04:00

Anheuser-Busch Quenches Summertime Thirst with Michelob ULTRA Fruit Infused Beer Light Beers with Subtle Hint of Natural Fruit

Beer coolers? Seriously? I did a spit-take when I saw an ad for this scheisse.

The worst is that they are marketing Michelob Ultra in general to athletic, health-conscious types, and the fruity flavors to women....two groups of people who should have the sense and the personal pride to drink real beer. Though one suspects the true market is guys who hope to loosen the morals of 15-year-old girls.

Antigravitas congratulates Captain Sulu on his marriage

2008-06-19T09:35:00.003-04:00

George Takei is the coolest.

Saddest, grossest wildlife sighting ever

2008-06-10T10:34:00.002-04:00

A dead baby fawn, right in the middle of the trail in Rock Creek Park this morning. Sad, sad, sad. What on earth would kill a fawn in RCP and then just leave it there? Scary chupacabra stuff.

Hose in different area codes

2008-06-05T14:49:00.004-04:00

I have always regarded pantyhose as a tool of the patriarchy (or, possibly, the devil). Show us your legs! But partially obscure them! In an uncomfortable way!

So I was glad to read (in the Wall Street Journal, of all places) that not wearing hose is now officially OK.

The weather grows warmer, and the debate heats up: Are bare legs proper? [My question is, are bare feet proper?--Ed.] In today's casual workplaces, many women have peeled off the panty hose, and it is now common to see bare legs even on conservative Wall Street and at business events. Yet the transition has highlighted a generational divide. For women who entered the work force before the 1990s, hose were considered as necessary as underwear. But many twentysomethings have never worn panty hose at all.

DC, to my mind, has been uncharacteristically ahead of the fashion curve in this regard--probably because we live in a reclaimed swamp and would really have to resort to loincloths for true comfort May through October.

Better dead than Red!

2008-05-30T06:22:00.003-04:00

Charles Krauthammer's column on environmentalism and climate change in the Post today is a good chuckle. I'm going to give it more space and attention than it really deserves, because it is so ludicrous, yet infuriating.

First of all, either Krauthammer doesn't really understand how "science" works, or he's pretending not to. I'll choose the latter since he's not a dumb guy. He writes,

Predictions of catastrophe depend on models. Models depend on assumptions about complex planetary systems -- from ocean currents to cloud formation -- that no one fully understands. Which is why the models are inherently flawed and forever changing.

Ummmm...that's how "models" work. The space shuttle flies based on models of the physical universe. We go to war based on models of the geopolitical universe. The Fed's decision to reduce interest rates again? Yup, that was based on a model too! Until someone can literally see the future, we're going to be basing policy on models. Ideally, models with strong scientific consensus behind them, like those predicting continued global warming from carbon dioxide emissions.

Secondly--communism? I guess that's why China has such strong environmental protections. Listen, equating "liberal" social change efforts with communism isn't going to work for much longer, guys. There are people in college right now who weren't even born by the time the Berlin Wall came down. You won. You defeated communism. Congratulations. Let it go.

Finally, it sure takes a power-hungry person to assume that the purpose of any group advocating some sort of social or economic paradigm shift is doing so in order to gain or consolidate political power for themselves. To put it bluntly, just because you're a selfish, greedy jerk doesn't mean everyone else is too, and assuming such only points to your own motivations.

As Krauthammer writes,

There's no greater social power than the power to ration...The Church of the Environment promulgates secondary dogmas as well. One of these is a strict nuclear taboo. Rather convenient, is it not? Take this major coal-substituting fix off the table, and we will be rationing all the more. Guess who does the rationing.

Ooooo, I know I know! Chairman Al Gore! I know that if it weren't for my desperate thirst to control the world by rationing energy, I would be 100% behind building nuclear plants everywhere they will fit.

We fought the hills of Vermont and won/lived

2008-05-27T17:27:00.006-04:00

A very belated Vermont City Marathon report.

Sunday, May 25, 2008
Burlington, VT
Runners: 7,000+
Spectators: 25,000!
Conditions: Clear and sunny, around 60 at start, rising to 76 degrees by noon

This is not a PR course, and even less so on a hot day. It is, however, gorgeous, and the crowd support was phenomenal. Little kids handing out snacks, a Darth Vader impersonator, a professional 20-piece drum circle, several full plugged-in bands, a cardboard standup of Hillary Clinton reading "never give up"...you name it. We ran past the Ethan Allen homestead, through the UVM and Champlain College campuses, down Church Street, and on a lovely bike path by Lake Champlain. I did not spot Champ the lake monster but I was not looking very closely.

My original 3:40 goal was inappropriate for the course and conditions. I ran a 1:49 first half comfortably, but as the temperature rose, I decided to just chill out and enjoy the view, finishing in 3:55, 78th percentile in my age group. I was pretty pleased under the circumstances.

Ben ran a blistering 1:07 first ten miles and 1:29 for the half, but in the end the conditions caught up with him as well.

All in all, a lovely, well-organized race with fabulous spectators. We'll be sure to run this one again.

The Clinton/RFK flap: just one more reason I want this election to be over

2008-05-27T09:58:00.002-04:00

This has just gotten silly. I'm not even a Clinton supporter, per se, and it was immediately clear to me that her mention of the June assassination of Bobby Kennedy was meant simply to illustrate her point that Democratic nomination races have, historically, continued into the summer.

The assassination was not mentioned as "a reason to stay in the race," as Eugene Robinson misleadingly writes in his column this morning, or a suggestion that either Democratic contender might be assassinated for heaven's sake. This was Clinton picking her brain for a good example of a long nomination fight and failing to screen the results. Even Obama says so.

I hope Senator Clinton has learned her lesson about choosing historical examples a little more carefully, and props to Bobby Kennedy, Jr. for his classy response to the hubbub.

McCain veep selection process sounds like an episode of The Bachelor

2008-05-22T07:43:00.003-04:00

Or maybe The 5th Wheel...

Senator John McCain of Arizona is set to meet with at least three potential running mates at a gathering at his ranch this weekend in Arizona...

...Mr. McCain is heading home on Friday for three days without a public schedule. His campaign described this as a social weekend that would include 10 couples, and -- as has been its policy -- declined to discuss any aspect of the vice-presidential search. (NYT)

Some easy listening on the subprime lending crisis

2008-05-19T17:14:00.004-04:00

This is one of the few times when I wish I were still a freshman in Econ 101. You can be sure that econ professors the nation over are using the mortgage crisis as a teaching tool and helping their students understand this complicated and interesting (and tragic) situation.

Here are a couple of pieces I have read/heard recently that do a good job at breaking it down for the rest of us.

This American Life, 5/9/08: "The Giant Pool of Money."

New York Times Magazine, 4/27/08: "Triple-A Failure."

Washington City Paper, 10/12/07: "Subprime and Punishment."